Joel Dommett: Bedfringe Festival Q&A

We chatted to Joel Dommett, to find out about his fave pens, the pains of writing an honest show and why stools make him feel like a tree…

Your show at Bedfringe last year went down well…What can we expect this year?

Joel: I was Catfished a couple of years ago like really badly, someone tried to bribe me with pictures of my penis. The weird thing is I don’t really know how it’s going to end, hopefully by Bedfringe I’ll have an ending.

How strange of an experience was it being Catfished?

Joel: It was very weird. That’s kind of like the optimism of a comedian, at no point was I like this is the worst thing ever. I feel like it worked in my favour, it’s going to be fun!

You’re laying your heart on the line trying to get people to laugh

Joel: You’ve just got to try and be as honest as possible. This show is really a lot about honesty. My last shows have been a little bit fabricated for an exciting ending. This year I’ve really challenged myself to write a really true story. It’s a real challenge, to write a show that’s completely true and honest hopefully a better show as result.

How do you challenge yourself?

Joel: I write a new show every year, that challenges me. If it doesn’t challenge you, you’re really not writing hard enough. It’s so, so hard, it’s just insane. I think it’s pretty easy to write a show that’s fine. It’s so difficult to write a show that’s good. That difference between fine and insanely good is so difficult.

What pen do you use to write?

Joel: I just use whatever. I lose pens all the time. I try and steal them – it’s a weird thing I don’t really like buying pens, because I lose pens all the time. There must be pens out there that don’t have an owner. So I just find them everywhere. When you find a good sharpie, there’s no better feeling!

How do you stay motivated?

Joel: I try and write for at least an hour a day. I’ve got a calendar that I tick off if I’ve done an hour that day. If I missed one then I have to do two hours the next day. I gig every night to try and work out the new stuff. I go out perform and figure what I’m going to do, it’s great, it’s not a bad life to lead.

Have you got a Very British Problem that you’d like to share with us?

Joel: It’s not really a very British problem. This is something that makes me more angry than anything in the world. When you sit on a high stool and it doesn’t have a crossbar, you’re like where do I put my feet. I was in a coffee shop yesterday and I was like where do I put my feet? It’s so uncomfortable, it’s like I’m tree. It’s terrible.

What word gives you a lot of satisfaction?

Joel: Portcullis

Sweary words?

Joel: They’re all good, FUCK is so good and CUNT is amazing.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve received from fans?

Joel: Someone made me sign their arm the other day; then asked me if I knew a good tattoo artist. I was like absolutely not, that’s saying something about my ideas of the longevity of my career. I don’t want anyone to get a tattoo of my name on their arm; I am definitely not going to be someone noticeable in five years time.

Tell us about your recent cultural picks?

Joel: I’ve always been obsessed with is Tommy Tiernan, I just watch loads of hime all the time, I’m obsessed with Peaky Blinders at the moment.

Book wise I’m really trying to get through a book called A Little Life, it’s the biggest book I’ve ever seen. My friend and very good comedian, Nish Kumar gave it to me for my Birthday. He was like try and read that! I was like what the fuck it’s massive! It’s not even got big writing; I was expecting to open it and it to have three words per page. I really want to read it, because I want to prove him wrong that I can do it.